Funding more of Charlotte’s creatives
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ASC Emerging Creators Fellowship recipient Hnin Nie. Photo: Nancy Pierce/courtesy of ASC
Arts & Science Council invested $1.2 million in local creatives in fiscal year 2022.
Driving the news: It’s the first time the organization topped $1 million in artist support.
Why it matters: ASC did more with less from one of its major contributors – the city of Charlotte.
ASC received $3.2 million from the city last fiscal year compared to $1.7 million for FY22 via the Infusion Fund, which was roughly split between grant making and ASC operations.
Flashback: Last year, the city decided to focus less on funding the arts for philanthropic purposes and more for economic development, which meant creating its own Arts and Culture Advisory Board.
And the city hired Priya Sircar as the first arts and culture officer, who will create a cultural plan for Charlotte.
Yes, but: The city has been a significant ASC contributor over the years, but, as ASC President Krista Terrell told me, they’re not the only source of funding.
Now Mecklenburg County is ASC’s largest supporter at $2.2 million. The county provided $1.45 million the previous year.
Towns also increased their funding from $50,000 total in FY21 to $75,000 for FY22. Matthews increased their contribution from $25,000 to $32,000 and Davidson raised theirs from nothing to $18,000. Other towns remained the same.
Private donors, mostly individuals, and the North Carolina Arts Council also fund ASC.
By the numbers: ASC provided $446,000 to local creatives last year, supporting 102 treaties in FY21 compared to 148 this year-to-date.
Zoom out: Since 2017, they’ve increased their fellowships from four recipients for a total of $40,000 to 20 fellows receiving a total of $250,000.
“We want to make deeper investments for fiscal year 2023, and really institutionalize the growth that we have made this year, for example, as it relates to creative individuals,” Terrell told me.